


Breaking The Ice

by cinnabongene



Category: LazyTown
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Holding Hands, Ice Skating, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-16 19:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9286394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinnabongene/pseuds/cinnabongene
Summary: When winter comes to LazyTown, all Robbie wants is to ice-skate in peace. However, Sportacus and the kids have other plans.





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn’t every day it snowed in LazyTown, and it certainly wasn’t every day it was cold enough for the pond in the woods to freeze over. Robbie Rotten pushed his way through the bare branches and thick snow toward the quiet, secluded little body of water. When he reached the edge, he knelt down in the snow to scrutinize the integrity of the ice. Tapping it with his purple gloved finger, it seemed promising.

Getting bolder, he stood up and pressed the toe of one of his boots against it. Still, it held. He tentatively placed the weight of his whole foot on the ice, and then the other foot with a self-satisfied smirk and chuckle. As he moved to step back off the ice, he lost his balance and came crashing down onto the frozen pond. Still not a crack. Well, if it could handle that, it could handle anything. “I meant to do that,” he muttered to himself. 

Quickly, he got to his feet, brushed himself off, and headed back toward his lair. It was time for a costume change, and for once, it wasn’t a disguise he had in mind. 

 

“Sportacus, look! The pond’s frozen over!” called Stephanie, running into the clearing just a few minutes after Robbie had left. Sportacus and the other kids followed close behind her. “Do you think we could go ice skating?” 

“Yeah! Can we?” the other kids clamored enthusiastically. 

“First, we have to make sure it’s safe,” said Sportacus. “It may look frozen on top, but the ice could be very thin.” In one swift movement, he snapped a twig from a nearby tree and slammed it against the ice. “Pretty sturdy,” he concluded. 

Pixel was already one step ahead, scanning the ice with the Sonar device he kept in his pocket. “My readings say the ice is four inches thick.” 

“Excellent!” said Sportacus. “Ice skates!” he called up to his airship, and six pairs of skates fell from the sky into his waiting arms. 

The kids gathered around, awestruck. “Woah.” 

 

Half an hour later, Robbie came trudging back through the snow, this time clad in a puffy purple coat, matching earmuffs, a long maroon scarf, and on his feet, a pair of shiny, white ice skates. Finally, he would be able to get some peace and quiet and clear his mind as the ice glided underneath his feet. It was one of the only times he truly felt at peace. “I just hope Sportasnoop and those meddling kids don’t find out…” he mumbled as he brushed past the last tree. Now, he could see the pond and— “You’ve got to be kidding me!” 

“Robbie Rotten!” gasped Stephanie, nearly slipping on the ice in shock. 

Sportacus was at her side to steady her in an instant. “Robbie!” he grinned brightly. “What are you doing all the way out here?” 

“Leaving,” said Robbie, promptly turning around and stalking off in the opposite direction, but not before Sportacus could notice what was on his feet. 

“Robbie, did you come here to try ice skating?” 

“These aren’t skates. These are my knife shoes. It’s a fashion statement; I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Robbie replied matter-of-factly. 

“I think it’s great you wanted to try skating, Robbie,” said Sportacus, gliding to the side of the ice to get closer to him. “The kids and I would love it if you joined us.”

“Yeah!” Stephanie agreed. 

“We would?” asked Ziggy. 

“Forget it. It was a stupid idea anyway,” said Robbie. 

“It’s okay if you don’t know how. I taught the kids; I could teach you too.” 

“It’s not that I don’t—” But before Robbie could finish his explanation, Sportacus had grabbed both of his hands and pulled him out onto the ice. Robbie clung onto him in shock and Sportacus chuckled fondly. 

“See, it’s not that hard. You just have to keep your balance.”

Robbie took his eyes off his feet and looked up to Sportacus’ face. He could see their breath mixing together in the cold air. Something about being so close to the hero was making his heart pound and making his face feel like it was on fire despite the freezing conditions. Anger, that’s what it must be. How dare the flippity blue elf, with his cocky grin and his too-blue eyes, make a fool out of him like this? What right did he have to just grab his hands and skate with him, in front of all the kids to boot? But if it was anger, why didn’t he want it to stop? 

“I got it, Sportaflop,” he muttered, pulling away a bit. He loosened his grip on the elf’s hands, but Sportacus held on. Robbie didn’t know if he should be touched that Sportacus cared so much about him falling on his face, or offended that he thought he was less capable of skating on his own than a gaggle of eight-year-olds. 

Speaking of eight-year-olds, the pink girl was gliding her way over to them. “Sportacus, maybe if the pond is still frozen tomorrow, we could play ice hockey!” Trying to avoid a collision with the two men, Stephanie dug her skates into the ice to stop her forward momentum, but only ended up losing her balance. Instinctively, Robbie held out his hand and put it on her shoulder, steadying her to a stop. 

Sportacus grinned, but decided to say nothing to save Robbie and Stephanie both the embarrassment. “That’s a great idea, Stephanie! I love ice hockey.” 

Stephanie looked over their group and did the math in her head. “We can be in teams of three.” 

“How do we decide who gets Sportacus? Whoever has him on their team is going to win for sure!” said Ziggy. 

“Well, I think Sportacus should be on _my_ team,” said Stingy. 

“We could use a random number generator to decide the teams,” suggested Pixel. 

“That still doesn’t make it any more fair,” complained Trixie. 

“What if the team that doesn’t have Sportacus gets an extra player,” said Stephanie. 

“Where are we going to find someone else to play with us?” asked Trixie. 

Robbie realized all eyes were on him. “What are you looking at me for?”

“Robbie, would you like to play ice hockey with us tomorrow?” Sportacus asked. 

Robbie looked from the ground, to the kids’ eager faces, to Sportacus’ hand still holding his own. “I don’t know if I—”

At that moment, Sportacus’ crystal beeped. “Someone’s in trouble! I have to go. Kids, you should head back into town. Robbie, I can come back later today and we can practice skating some more before the game tomorrow.” 

“But I don’t need you to—” 

“I have to go!” Sportacus pulled Robbie safely to the side of the ice before doing a backflip out of his skates, into his normal shoes, and running back toward town at lightning speed. 

Robbie sighed. He’d really gotten himself into it this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first LazyTown fic. SportaRobbie has so quickly taken over my life, I just had to contribute. 
> 
> My LazyTown tumblr is bi-robbie-rotten.tumblr.com


	2. Chapter 2

Robbie paced back and forth in front of his orange chair. He should just tell Sportacus the truth—that he could skate perfectly well on his own, and he certainly didn’t want to play ice hockey, thank you very much. But then he’d have to face those sad puppy-dog eyes, and spend the rest of the week hiding underground to avoid the guilt. But what was the alternative? Fake not knowing how to skate? And Sportacus would take him back to the pond and spend the afternoon holding his hand, keeping him company, and giving him words of encouragement? Disgusting. 

“Robbie? Are you down there?” 

The villain’s heart leapt into his throat. But he was damned if he was going to let it show. He regained his composure and cleared his throat. “Give me a minute, Sportadork.”

Robbie donned his coat, gloves, and scarf, and grabbed his ice skates in his hand. Soon, he appeared at the entrance to his lair and pulled himself out of the hatch. The blue elf was waiting there for him, rocking on his heels to expel the energy he was practically vibrating with, that eager puppy-dog grin on his face again. 

“Are you ready for your lessons, Robbie?” he asked. 

It was all Robbie could do to keep from outwardly groaning. How did Sportacus even get this way? Had he back-flipped out of the womb, or had he been bitten by a radioactive soccer dad? “Sure. Let’s just get this over with.” 

Apparently Robbie’s attempt at disdain had no effect on Sportacus. “Great!” he exclaimed, and took off cartwheeling toward the pond. 

 

Once they were back at the water’s edge, they sat down in the snow and pulled on their skates. Robbie couldn’t help but notice how Sportacus’ exposed muscles flexed as he tied the laces. Did Sportacus even own a coat? “Aren’t you cold?” Robbie asked.

“Not when I’m always moving!” 

Robbie gestured to his elaborate cold-weather outfit. “Well, you can obviously tell I’m not counting on doing that much moving.” 

Skates laced, Sportacus sprung to his feet. “That’s okay. You’re here, and that’s what’s important. Besides, I like your clothes.” 

Robbie furrowed his brows and looked up. “You do?”

“Of course! I can tell you put a lot of work into them.” 

Robbie looked down at his outfit, trying to discern if Sportacus was somehow mocking him. “…Thanks.” 

The villain tried to push himself up to a standing position, but had trouble shifting his weight onto the skates. Before he could tumble backwards, Sportacus grabbed Robbie by the hand, quickly pulling him into a standing position. “Let’s go!” In one fluid motion, Sportacus pulled Robbie onto the ice and glided backwards, watching as Robbie found his footing. 

“You really should give me some warning before you do that,” Robbie huffed. 

“Sorry, I just get so excited!” said Sportacus, and if Robbie wasn’t mistaken, a slight blush painted the elf’s cheeks. It was probably just the cold. “Now, the first thing you should do if you want to learn to ice skate is to bend your knees, lean forward, and take little steps. If we were at an ice rink, you could hold on to the wall, but since we’re not, you’ll just have to hold on to me!” 

Robbie rolled his eyes. “I know how to walk on ice, Sportaflop. What’s next?” 

“Next, you should practice falling.” 

“You mean fall on purpose? Why would anyone do that?”

“If you’re going to learn to skate, you’re going to fall eventually. It’s better to know how to do it right, so you’ll be prepared when you do it accidentally.” 

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I’m not doing it,” said Robbie, letting go of Sportacus’ hand to cross his arms indignantly. 

“Come on. It won’t be that bad. I’ll do it too,” said Sportacus, demonstrating as he talked. “Just push off the ice a little bit and let yourself glide forward. Then, crouch down, and fall.” He let his skates slip out from under him and dropped the remaining few inches onto the ice. “See, didn’t hurt at all.” 

Robbie sighed, but he had to admit, it was a little endearing to see the great Sportacus plant himself on the ice for his sake. He might as well return the favor. He pushed himself into a slow glide, lowered himself down, and fell. A little less gracefully than he would have liked, but he had to keep up the illusion. He winced as his backside made contact with the ice. 

By the time he opened his eyes again, Sportacus was standing over him, beaming and holding out a helping hand. “And now you know how to fall. If you ever get unbalanced, just go back into that position and you’ll be okay!” 

Robbie reached up and took Sportacus’ hand, letting the stronger man pull him back onto his feet. Judging by the look on Sportacus’ face, it seemed like he was actually… proud of Robbie? Why was Sportacus being so nice to him? Robbie had assumed Sportacus had only been friendly with him earlier to set a good example for the kids and teach them to be nice even to people they hated. But now that they were alone, it almost felt like Sportacus actually cared? Robbie pushed the thought from his mind. Thoughts like that were only sure to hurt him later. “Can we do some actual skating now?” 

“Of course! It’s very simple,” said Sportacus. “You just have to combine the stepping motion with a pushing motion. And then you can glide forward. Like this.” Still holding Robbie’s hand, Sportacus took a few steps forward and pushed off, taking Robbie with him. It was a gentle glide, which Robbie quickly fell into. “Now, try it with me.” 

Robbie kept up the gliding motion of his feet, pushing against the ice and keeping with Sportacus’ steady pace. “Like this?”

“Excellent, Robbie! You’re a natural!” Sportacus proclaimed. Unable to resist seeing how far he could push Robbie, Sportacus picked up the pace, impressed when Robbie didn’t even bat an eye to keep up. “If you keep learning at this pace, we may have to try something more advanced. Maybe I could spin you,” he chuckled. 

At that unexpected mental image, Robbie felt like the air had been knocked out of him. He lost his balance and slid backwards. Before he knew it, he had landed hard on the ice and pulled Sportacus down with him. The elf’s head had landed in Robbie’s lap. Robbie braced himself as he brought his gaze down to meet Sportacus’, expecting the hero to scold him, or at least fix him with a steely glare. 

Instead, he was met with Sportacus’ bright smile and good-natured laugh. “I guess we should have practiced falling together.” 

Robbie’s stomach flipped and his heart fluttered in his chest. He didn’t feel the cold seeping into his pants and gloves where they touched the ice, and he didn’t feel the pain still radiating through his tailbone. All he could feel was Sportacus’ head in his lap, and all he could do was stare. How could Sportacus still be laughing and smiling after that? He didn’t look even the slightest bit angry, with his charming smile and his twinkling blue eyes… Robbie couldn’t deny it any longer. He couldn’t keep telling himself it was just anger, annoyance, disgust, or jealousy. It was far from that. He finally had to face it: he was hopelessly in love with Sportacus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos!! The supportiveness and enthusiasm of the LazyTown fandom never ceases to warm my heart.
> 
> Also, I don't actually know anything about teaching someone how to ice-skate. I just looked at a couple articles online, so my apologies if Sportacus' skating lessons are horribly inaccurate hahah.


	3. Chapter 3

“Robbie? Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?” 

“What? Yeah—no. Of course I’m okay. I’m always okay.” 

Sportacus sprung to his feet and helped Robbie up. Robbie brushed the snow and ice off his pants and cracked his back into alignment, making Sportacus wince at the sound. Robbie noticed the other man was shivering a bit; cold ice on bare skin must get to even the most athletic of elves. 

“Are _you_ okay?” Robbie mumbled into his scarf, looking down at Sportacus’ feet. 

“I’m fine; you broke my fall,” said Sportacus. He let out a small chuckle, but Robbie didn’t miss the way he briefly rubbed his hands over his bare arms.

Robbie drew in a deep breath, unwrapped his scarf, and thrust it out toward Sportacus. “Here, wear this.” 

“Robbie, you don’t have to give me this,” said Sportacus. His tone would have implied that Robbie was surrendering a precious family heirloom or the last can of beans on the failed expedition. 

“I’ve already got a jacket and gloves. You’re running around in tights and short sleeves. Take it.”

Knowing it would be rude not to accept Robbie’s offer, Sportacus took the scarf and wrapped it reverently around his neck. The maroon color didn’t quite fit with his blue aesthetic, but he appreciated it anyway. “Thank you, Robbie. That was very kind of you.”

Robbie rolled his eyes and grit his teeth. “Yeah, yeah.” 

“You’ve made some great progress. I’d understand if you want to be done for the day,” said Sportacus. 

“No!” sputtered Robbie, catching both himself and Sportacus off-guard. He felt the heat rising to his cheeks. “I mean, I still have more time to practice, if that’s alright with you.” 

“Of course!” said Sportacus, his face lighting up in that way that made Robbie’s stomach fill with butterflies. “Let’s work on getting your speed up.” 

The elf took Robbie’s hand again, and Robbie inwardly groaned. Here he was, pretending he didn’t know how to skate just so he could spend a few hours holding Sportacus’ hand. It truly was pathetic, but for once, he didn’t mind. 

 

Sportacus couldn’t help but admire Robbie’s efforts as he haltingly glided along the ice, reaching out to grab his hand or shoulder whenever he needed to be steadied. Seeing the villain put in an effort to do something other than lie around or try to get him to leave town forever brought a smile to Sportacus’ face. It was nice to get to spend time with someone his own age, and maybe it gave him just a little bit of hope that Robbie might not hate him as much as he claimed to. But Sportacus wasn’t going to let himself go there. Even if he just got this one afternoon of closeness with Robbie, that would be enough. 

After a while, Sportacus noticed the sun sitting lower in the sky. Soon it would get even colder, and he didn’t want Robbie to freeze out here, especially without his scarf. “Let’s stop up here. Think you can do it without falling this time?” he asked. 

Robbie was about to come back with a snide retort, but when he saw the playful glimmer in Sportacus’ eyes, it died in his throat. That alone was enough to make him wobble as he dug the front of his skates softly into the ice, coming to a less than gentle—but nonetheless successful—halt at the edge of the ice. “How’s that for not falling?” he asked, placing his hands triumphantly on his hips. 

“That was stupendous!” Sportacus grinned. “I think you’ll be ready for ice hockey tomorrow. It’ll be bright and early, so you better make sure you get a good sleep tonight.”

“How early? You mean like noon?” 

Sportacus chuckled. “You’re funny, Robbie. In fact, I think you’re the funniest person I’ve met in LazyTown.” 

“R—really? You mean like ‘good’ funny or ‘don’t eat that; it tastes funny’ funny?”

“Good funny!”

“Oh, uh, thank you.” 

It always broke Sportacus’ heart how Robbie didn’t know how to accept compliments. Maybe that’s why he was always trying so hard to be a villain. Maybe it was easier for him to accept people’s annoyance and disappointment than their friendship. But, no one could master a sport in a day, so maybe it would just take practice to break down Robbie’s walls as well. Sportacus had to keep hope. 

As they sat down in the snow together to change back into their shoes, Sportacus gathered up his courage. It was a longshot, but he’d never know if he didn’t try. “Robbie, would you like to come back to my airship and drink some herbal tea with me?” 

Robbie froze for a moment, one of his magenta and purple striped stockings exposed to the open air. Sportacus really wanted to spend more time with him? He wasn’t just in this so he could hold it over Robbie’s head that he got him to exercise? But the airship was way too far up for Robbie to ever consider stepping foot in it. Besides, herbal tea? Everyone knows the only acceptable drink in cold weather is hot chocolate with whip cream and marshmallows. 

He could invite Sportacus back to his lair for hot chocolate, but then he’d just have an unconscious elf on his hands. Besides, even if he had something sugar-free for Sportacus to drink, his lair was in no state for having company. It was probably better this way. Best not to look too eager, lest Sportacus catch on to his crush. 

“…Robbie?” Sportacus asked, his brow knitting in concern when Robbie didn’t respond after a few seconds. 

“Thanks, but no thanks, Sportadweeb. I’ve got a life to get back to.”

Sportacus tried not to let his disappointment show. He pulled on his last boot and stood up. “Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow morning then. Is ten o’clock okay?” 

“That’s fine, Sportaflop. I’ll be sure to set an alarm… or five.” 

“Great! Have a good night, Robbie.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” the villain muttered. 

 

Once Sportacus had returned to the airship, he sat down with a cup of tea and an apple for good measure. He couldn’t help but think that Robbie had acted strangely today. It wasn’t like him to voluntarily do something active, let alone put effort into learning it. And why did Robbie seem so nervous around him? It wasn’t as if Sportacus didn’t try his best to be as helpful and nonthreatening as possible. He thought he’d made it clear to Robbie that he wanted to be friends. He just hoped he hadn’t been too clear that he secretly wished that someday they could be more. 

His ship’s computer startled him from his reverie. “It’s 8:08, Sportacus.”

He sighed and kicked his boots off. He’d have to finish contemplating Robbie in the morning. Standing next to his bed, he reached up to pull off his hat, and realized with a gasp that Robbie’s scarf was still draped around his neck. “Oh no! I have to return this to Robbie!” He jumped into the pilot’s seat and pedaled over to the airspace just above Robbie’s billboard. 

Sportacus descended the ladder and knocked loudly on the hatch. It felt rude, disturbing someone at so late a time as 8:15 at night, but he was sure Robbie would still be up. “Robbie? Robbie, are you awake?”

No answer. Strange. It wasn’t like Robbie to ignore him. All the banging and shouting should have at least earned him a “go away.” Maybe Robbie had been having trouble sleeping again and so he’d gone to the bench near the town square for a change of scenery. Sportacus jumped to the ground and then back-flipped toward the center of town. 

“Robbie?” Sportacus stuck his landing in front of the bench, but Robbie and his orange pillow were nowhere to be seen. For a moment, Sportacus grew worried. But he knew if anything serious had happened to Robbie, his crystal would have gone off. Still, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing what had happened to him. “Maybe he went back to the pond to practice some more on his own,” Sportacus pondered. It was worth a shot. 

 

When Sportacus reached the clearing, the sound of his landing was absorbed by the soft cushion of snow underneath his boots. Just as he had suspected, there was Robbie, gliding around the middle of the pond, unaware that he was being watched. Sportacus was about to call out to catch the other man’s attention, but then he noticed something. Robbie wasn’t clumsily slipping around like he had been earlier today. No, quite the opposite. 

Robbie was gliding across the ice with breathtaking ease. He went backwards, shifted his balance onto one leg, spun around, jumped, and swizzled, all while looking as relaxed and composed as if he had been lounging in his fuzzy chair. After a few moments of watching, Sportacus remembered he needed to breathe. 

After landing a particularly impressive jump, Robbie opened his eyes and froze where he stood. For a split second, Sportacus wondered why he had stopped, but then he realized Robbie was staring right back at him.

“S—Sportacus!?”


	4. Chapter 4

“What are you doing here?” Robbie sputtered. “It’s after 8:08!”

“I forgot to return your scarf,” said Sportacus, holding the article up sheepishly. “When you weren’t at home, I got worried… Robbie, why didn’t you tell me you could skate?”

Robbie’s face burned with shame. He stood as frozen as the pond beneath his feet, unable to think of any suitable response. 

“Robbie?” Sportacus asked after a moment of silence. 

Deciding to do what he did best, and channel his insecurity into anger, Robbie stomped over to Sportacus and jabbed his finger against the elf’s blue-clad chest. “What right do you have to come here and spy on me in my private, personal life without my knowledge?” 

“But, Robbie—”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Robbie huffed and stormed off the ice, sitting down next to his shoes in the snow. He did his best to concentrate on unlacing the skates and not looking up at the kicked-puppy expression he knew was on Sportacus’ face. This was probably for the best anyway. He and Sportacus could never be anything more than enemies. He only ever ended up hurting the people who got close to him; Sportacus didn’t deserve that. 

But still the naïve elf was coming closer to him. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he murmured. 

His shoes securely on his feet, Robbie stood and straightened his jacket. “I’m leaving,” he announced. “Don’t even think about following me.” 

Defeated, Sportacus kept his mouth shut and watched Robbie stalk off into the woods. After a moment, he looked down and saw he was still holding the scarf in his hands. Sportacus took off sprinting down the path, calling, “Robbie, wait! Your scarf!” But Robbie was already gone. 

 

“I don’t think he’s coming. Maybe we should just start without him,” said Trixie, leaning her weight on the top of her hockey stick the next morning. 

“It’s already 10:33,” said Pixel, by way of agreement. 

“But it won’t be fair without him!” argued Ziggy. 

“It will be fair, so long as Sportacus is on my team,” replied Stingy. 

“Do you think he’s okay, Sportacus?” Stephanie asked. 

The elf frowned to himself. They’d all shown up exactly at ten and had been waiting on Robbie ever since. Normally Sportacus wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t see Robbie until well into the afternoon, but it wasn’t like him not to show up when he’d given his word. He’d expected that Robbie might be ten or fifteen minutes late, but after what had happened last night… “My crystal didn’t go off, so he’s probably okay… But maybe I should go check on him, just in case.”

“Ooh, can we come with you?” Ziggy asked. 

“I think it’s best if I do this on my own,” said Sportacus. “Why don’t you kids stay here and practice scoring goals? I’ll be right over if you need me.” 

Sportacus swooshed his arms around before doing a cartwheel into a run in the direction of Robbie’s lair. 

Trixie positioned herself in front of the goal. “Alright, who here’s brave enough to try to get one past me?” 

 

Sportacus hesitated as he skidded to a stop in front of the hatch to Robbie’s lair. He had to figure out how he was going to handle this. He could just pretend last night had never happened and ask Robbie to come back and play hockey. Or he could try to get to the root of why Robbie had lied in the first place, but that might sound too accusing and make an already precarious situation worse. 

Taking in a deep breath, he knocked on the hatch and called down. “Robbie?” When he got no response, he opened it and called down again, his voice echoing through the chute. “Robbie, I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Still nothing. Sportacus sighed. “I’m coming down.” 

When he landed in the lair, he found himself facing Robbie, who sat in his orange chair with his arms crossed and a sour expression on his face. “I suppose this was inevitable. You never can mind your own business, can you?” muttered Robbie. 

Sportacus felt himself deflate at the statement. “I’m sorry, Robbie. I was worried. The kids have been waiting for you to play ice hockey with them all morning.” 

“Tell them I’m not coming. I’m sure they’ll figure something out,” said Robbie, not meeting Sportacus’ gaze. 

“I know we could find a way to make it work without you, but they were really excited to get to play with you… and so was I.” 

Robbie scoffed. “Oh, please. You don’t have to flatter me, Sportaflop. I know you must hate me, especially after I lied to you.” 

Sportacus took a step closer. “I don’t hate you, Robbie. I’m a bit confused about why you would lie, but I’m not angry.” 

The elf’s voice sounded so genuine, that for a second, Robbie could almost believe him.

“We don’t ever have to talk about last night. But if you’re willing, the kids and I would still very much like it if you would come play hockey with us.” 

Robbie turned to look up at Sportacus, standing there in the middle of his lair, so earnestly. He had to admit, it was a little endearing. He could just take Sportacus up on his offer to let sleeping dogs lie and never mention the skating incident, but Robbie felt a nagging feeling that it was too easy of a way out. He shouldn’t just be let off the hook like that, not after all the trouble he’d put Sportacus through. He didn’t deserve to get to play hockey like he’d done nothing wrong. He looked back down. “If you knew why I lied to you, I’m not so sure you’d still say that,” he nearly whispered. 

“You can tell me, Robbie. I really doubt you could say anything that would make me not like you.”

Robbie’s heart leapt into his throat. _Like you._ Sportacus was about to regret those words. “I… at first, I only agreed because you didn’t leave me any room to say no. You’re always dashing about and pulling me along—” Robbie stopped to imitate Sportacus’ arm movements. “I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.” 

“I’m sorry—” Sportacus began, but Robbie cut him off. 

“But then, when it was just the two of us, I started to… enjoy it.” 

Sportacus raised a curious eyebrow. This wasn’t where he had imagined this going. 

“I liked that you cared enough to take the time to teach me how to skate—even though I already knew how. No one ever puts that much effort into me.” He had to close his eyes now, and speak without thinking too hard, or he would surely lose his nerve. “I liked talking to you, and… holding your hand.” Robbie opened his eyes and stared at Sportacus. “I like you, Sportacus. Alright? And I know you don’t feel the same about me, so why don’t you just go on your flippity-floppity way and pretend this whole thing never happened.”

Sportacus didn’t know what to say. Out of all the ways this could have gone, this wasn’t one he had considered. His cheeks were burning, and he realized Robbie was staring at him, waiting for a response. “Robbie…” Sportacus took off his hat and moved another step closer. “I… I like you too.” 

Robbie took a second to take in all that was before him. He was almost too captivated by Sportacus’ fluffy blonde hair and gently pointed ears that he forgot to process what he had said. After a few seconds, he looked back to Sportacus’ eyes. “You… you do?”

Sportacus nodded and allowed himself a small smile. Robbie’s heart began to soar for a second, but he quickly brought it back to earth. There was still a chance this could be a misunderstanding. 

“Like, you _like_ me? As… as more than just… a friend?”

Sportacus nodded again, smiling wider this time. 

Robbie still couldn’t let himself believe it. “Like… you’d want to… to go on a date with me?” He pointed to his own chest, as if Sportacus could have been confused as to who “me” meant. 

“Yes, Robbie. I like you very much, and I would love to go on a date with you. In fact, my ice-skating lessons may have contained more handholding than was strictly necessary,” he admitted. 

Robbie smiled, but furrowed his brows, willing to let himself believe it now, but still profoundly confused as to how Sportacus could return his feelings. He stood up from the chair and walked over to stand in front of the blushing sports elf, then tentatively lifted his hand. “Could—could I… touch your hair?” he asked, cringing at the sound of the words leaving his mouth. 

Sportacus let out a laugh that was like music to Robbie’s ears. “Of course!”

Robbie reached out and let his hand touch the fluffy mess of blonde curls atop the other man’s head. Sportacus grinned and chuckled as Robbie carded his fingers through his hair. Then, unable to resist the temptation, Robbie let his fingers wander down to lightly trace the pointed tip of one of Sportacus’ ears. The elf drew in a sharp breath at the unexpected touch. Robbie jumped back. “Sorry, I didn’t—”

“It’s alright, Robbie. It felt good,” he clarified with a blush. 

An awkward silence fell over the room as both men stared down at the floor, unsure of where to go from there. “We probably shouldn’t keep the kids waiting much longer,” said Sportacus. “That is, if you still want to play?” 

Robbie let out a mock-dramatic sigh. “If you insist, Sportadork. That wasn’t quite the first date I had in mind, but it’ll do.” 

Sportacus’ face lit up, and he practically jumped for joy. “Oh, thank you, Robbie!” 

“Just let me get dressed.” Robbie made his way over to the cases that held the outfits he had lined up for the next few days, walking down the line until he came to his winter gear. He then pulled the appropriate lever on the control panel and spun around until the articles of clothing materialized on his body. 

“Robbie…” Sportacus breathed, wide-eyed. “How did you do that?”

Robbie rolled his eyes and stepped down from the platform. “You’re one to talk, elf ears. Come on, let’s go.” 

Sportacus grabbed onto Robbie’s arm and turned him so they were face to face. “Wait. You’re still missing one last thing.” Sportacus unwrapped the maroon scarf from around his neck and draped it back around Robbie’s. “There. Perfect.” 

Robbie felt his cheeks grow hot, and for once, he couldn’t wait to be outside in the cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't touch this fic for over a week and then I wrote this chapter all in one day lmao. I think there's only going to be one more chapter after this. But don't worry; they'll kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

“Sportacus!” Stephanie cried happily as the hero appeared at the top of the hill leading down to the pond. 

“And Robbie Rotten!” said Ziggy as the villain stepped into view as well. 

“I hope you kids have been practicing, because we’re ready!” Sportacus announced. Robbie looked a bit tense standing beside him, but the kids were mostly just relieved he had shown up, and not in disguise for once. 

“Let’s pick teams! I wanna play!” said Ziggy, waving his hockey stick around excitedly. 

“Ziggy and Stephanie, why don’t you be the team captains?” Sportacus proposed.

“Ooh, can I pick first?” Ziggy asked. 

Stephanie nodded. “Go ahead.”

“I pick Sportacus!” Ziggy shouted. 

Sportacus grinned and went to stand next to Ziggy, leaving Robbie on his own. Robbie knew he would be picked last. It was middle school all over again. 

“I pick Trixie,” said Stephanie. 

“Yes!” The loud girl skated over to the pink girl’s side. 

“Since we only have one more teammate to choose, I think Stephanie’s team should choose again,” said Sportacus. 

Stephanie looked over at the rest of her friends, waiting hopefully, and then looked at Robbie, shuffling his feet in the snow while trying hard not to look apprehensive, and failing. “Robbie!” she called out. 

The man jumped. “What? I didn’t do anything!” 

Stephanie giggled. “Robbie, I’m picking you for my team!” 

“Oh… Really?” 

“Yeah!” 

“Oh… Thank you,” he said as he made his way over to her side. Sportacus shot him a covert wink that made him go weak in the knees.

“Alright, Ziggy. Who’s your last choice?” 

“I choose… Pixel!” 

“You can count on me,” Pixel grinned as he joined what everyone assumed would be the winning team. 

“But I wanted Sportacus to be on my team!” Stingy complained as he made his way over to Stephanie, Trixie, and Robbie. 

“It’s not anyone’s team. It’s _our_ team,” said Trixie. “And _we_ are gonna kick their butts.” 

“No you’re not! We’ve got Sportacus!” said Ziggy. 

“There’s only one way to find out,” said Sportacus. “Let’s play!” He grabbed a hockey stick for himself, and one for Robbie, then picked up the puck as well. 

Trixie and Pixel took up their positions by the goals, and Stingy and Robbie stood by while Ziggy and Stephanie faced each other in the middle. Sportacus stood to the side and threw the puck in between them. “Go!” he shouted. 

Stephanie got control of the puck and skated over toward the goal, Ziggy in hot pursuit. Pixel braced himself to defend the goal, but Sportacus swept in and stole the puck from Stephanie. “Hey!” she shouted. 

“You’ll have to come get it!” he laughed, skating off in the opposite direction. 

“Not if I do first,” Robbie smirked, expertly cutting Sportacus off and stealing back the puck. He spun around on his skates to get going in the right direction again. He glided across the ice, sometimes backwards, sometimes on one foot, weaving between the other players, and successfully evading Sportacus until he reached the goal. 

Ziggy didn’t even try to stop him. “Whoa. He’s almost as good as Sportacus!” the boy shouted.

“Think you can stop me?” Robbie asked Pixel when he reached the goal.

Pixel lowered his visor and took a wide stance. “Bring it on.” 

Robbie lifted his stick up behind him, took a swing…

And missed. The puck was untouched on the ice. “Huh?” 

Stephanie was at his side. “Don’t worry, Robbie. That’s why we’re a team!” She stepped in and swung, scoring a goal right between Pixel’s feet. 

The game continued with Robbie sweeping in to steal the puck from the other team, and Stephanie or Stingy scoring the point. And even Sportacus sometimes had trouble scoring a goal on Trixie. In the end, Stephanie’s team won, with Stingy scoring the final goal. “I win!” he shouted. “Victory is mine!” 

Trixie skated out of the goal to lightheartedly punch Stingy in the arm. “You mean _we_ win!” 

“Great game, guys!” said Sportacus, coming over to shake Stephanie, Stingy, and Trixie’s hands.

“I can’t believe I finally beat Sportaflop,”said Robbie. “And it was the one time I didn’t make you promise to leave town forever.” 

“Well, I for one am very happy about that,” Sportacus beamed, shaking Robbie’s hand as well, but adding in a reassuring squeeze and an affectionate rub with his thumb. 

“That wasn’t fair. Robbie’s way too good at this!” said Ziggy. 

“Yeah, there was no way we could have won!” Pixel agreed. 

“How about a rematch?” asked Sportacus. “Robbie and I versus the five of you?” 

The kids considered it for a moment. “Five against two? We can’t lose!” proclaimed Ziggy. 

“I call goalie!” said Trixie. 

“Let’s do it!” said Pixel. 

“What do you say, Robbie? Teammates?” Sportacus asked, holding his hand out in invitation. 

Robbie had to shake his head and fight back a smile. Sportacus had to be doing that on purpose; no one just happened to be that endearing. He sighed and grabbed the elf’s hand, allowing Sportacus to pull him over to his side. “If you insist.”

At first Sportacus was afraid Robbie was getting fed up with all the physical activity, but then he caught sight of the fond, teasing look in Robbie’s eyes and burst into a grin. “Alright, let’s go!” 

This time Pixel threw the puck into the middle, so both Robbie and Sportacus could be ready to leap into action. Sportacus scored the first goal, followed by Stephanie with the second. It was difficult for the kids not to get distracted by Robbie and Sportacus’ skating; they worked so in sync, and most of the time seemed more concerned with testing their figure-skating abilities than actually winning the game. 

In the end, Ziggy used his short stature to his advantage and swiped the puck away from Robbie, scoring the winning goal.

“Great job, Ziggy!” said Sportacus, giving the beaming kid a hard high-five. 

Once his hand had recovered, Ziggy looked expectantly towards Robbie, who merely looked down at him with his perpetual frown. But after a moment, he sighed and leaned over, offering Ziggy a loose handshake. “Good game, kid,” he muttered. 

“Thanks, Robbie!” said Ziggy, moving their joined hands up and down enthusiastically, then running off to rejoin his friends, who were celebrating by throwing snowballs at one another. 

“Thank you for playing, Robbie. It means a lot to me,” said Sportacus, resting a hand on the other man’s arm. 

Robbie looked down at Sportacus’ fingers on his jacket. “Don’t mention it, Sporty.” 

Sportacus felt his heartrate picking up. “Looks like we have the ice to ourselves… Have you ever tried any pair skating?”

“When would I have done that?” Robbie asked.

Sportacus shrugged. “Would you like to?” 

“The kids will see,” said Robbie, glancing over his shoulder to where most of the kids were now attempting to build a snowman, but Trixie was still throwing snowballs. 

Sportacus laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with us skating together. Come on!” He eagerly held out both of his hands. 

Robbie gave in and took Sportacus’ hands in his own, allowing the elf to pull him close. “How do we do this?”

“I’ve never done this before either. But the fun part is we get to figure it out together!”

“Alright, but no death spirals. And don’t even think about trying to lift me.” 

“I think it would make more sense for you to lift me. You are taller, after all,” said Sportacus, starting to skate forward as Robbie glided backwards. 

“No one’s lifting anyone,” said Robbie. “I don’t trust this town’s doctors…” A mischievous grin crept onto the villain’s face. “Although, I might just have to spin you.” He let go of one of Sportacus’ hands and held him at arm’s length. Sportacus spun back into Robbie’s arms and let Robbie catch him in a dip. 

As he let Robbie support his weight and gazed up into his grey eyes, Sportacus remembered they’d done this before, but he’d never been on this end of it. It was humbling to be this enveloped by Robbie, completely at the other man’s mercy. Sportacus’ gaze shifted down to Robbie’s lips. Robbie knew if he wasn’t brave now, he might never have a more perfect chance. Gently, he leaned his head down at the same time that he pulled Sportacus up, and pressed their lips together. 

After a second, he pulled away, searching for Sportacus’ reaction. The elf’s eyes were wide and his mouth formed into a little “O.” But he quickly recovered from his momentary shock and broke into a wide smile. He put one of his hands on the back of Robbie’s head and pulled him in for another kiss.

The moment was interrupted when Sportacus received a snowball straight to the back of his head. 

Robbie and Sportacus spun around to find Trixie wide-eyed and hiding behind her hands, expecting to be in trouble. Instead, Sportacus broke into a mischievous grin and skated to the side of the pond to gather up his own snowball. “I’m gonna get you, Trixie!” he laughed as she ran to hide behind the snowman. 

While Sportacus and the rest of the kids were preoccupied, Stephanie took the opportunity to skate over to Robbie’s side. “What do you want, Pinky?” Robbie asked, but there was no malice in his voice. 

“Are you and Sportacus boyfriends now?” she asked. 

Robbie tracked Sportacus with his eyes as the elf frolicked through the snow. “I don’t know. I haven’t asked him yet.”

“Do you think he wants to be your boyfriend?” Stephanie asked. 

Robbie shrugged. Before he could ask Stephanie why it was of any concern to her, he was hit on the shoulder by a loosely packed snowball from the hands of Sportacus. 

“Robbie! Come play with us!” the elf called. 

Stephanie grinned up at Robbie. “I think that means yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for reading this and sticking through with me even though I took forever to post the last chapter. I've been really busy trying to get through my last semester of college, but hopefully I'll be able to write some more LazyTown fics soon!


End file.
